1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a synchronous braking system, particularly to a synchronous braking system for use in two-wheeled vehicles, such as bicycles and motorcycles.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventional braking systems for two-wheeled vehicles mostly have two independent brakes for the front and rear wheels, which are driven by two independent cables and operated by a left handle and a right handle on a handlebar. This arrangement enables a user to stop the vehicle. However, the two brakes, being operated by separate handles, do not become effective at exactly the same time. Therefore, in the moment when braking is initiated, only one of the wheels undergoes braking, while the other is still rolling freely. Thus the braking effect is reduced, and at this time, the vehicle possibly skids or even falls over.
Since the above effect constitutes a great safety problem, synchronous braking systems have been developed, wherein by operating a single handle, brakes at the front and rear wheels are applied simultaneously.
However, conventional synchronous braking systems in practice do not precisely apply synchronous braking forces, have complicated structures, are difficult to adjust, and thus do not work effectively. The present inventor, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,311,805B (application Ser. No. 09/505,408) has disclosed a synchronous braking system, which comprises: a connecting unit, performing a linear movement, as driven by handles via primary cables; a secondary cable with two ends that are connected with front and rear brakes; and a driving device with a roll, mounted on the connecting unit, pulling on the secondary cable for driving the front and rear brakes. The main characteristic lies in that, when pulled on, the secondary cable is able to move over the roll, transferring forces between the front and rear brakes during braking, so that automatically uniform braking forces are applied, achieving a synchronous braking effect.
Since, however, the secondary cable is a single cable, breaking of one end thereof disables the other end as well, so that both the front and rear brakes do not work.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a synchronous braking system, which applies braking forces uniformly and synchronously to the front and rear wheels of a bicycle for a better braking effect and increased safety.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a synchronous braking system with a cable which, when broken, does not cause complete failure, achieving improved safety.
The present invention can be more fully understood by reference to the following description and accompanying drawings.